How was your weekend, Shelby County? It’s Monday, Oct. 9, which is the start of fall break for students at Memphis-Shelby County Schools and students in all of the suburban districts. Looking for something to entertain the kids? You could take the family out for some leaf peeping; we’ve got a guide on the best places to check out the foliage.

The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s regularly scheduled meeting is canceled today. But in Collierville, the BMA will review bids for the demolition of the aging Collierville Community Services Center, which will be torn down to make way for more parking around Town Square.

For a look at what’s coming later this week, check out This Week in Memphis.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Supporters celebrated Paul Young’s mayoral victory at Minglewood Hall on Oct. 5. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Can Young turn the tide? Come January, Memphis will have a new mayor in Paul Young. And our own Samuel Hardiman talks to several voters and local politicians who believe Young, with all his swagger and positivity, is the ideal person to help turn Memphis around. If you ask The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins, things are looking up since Young’s election. He lists a few reasons why he thinks Young is right for the job. We’ve also got a deeper look from our Nashville reporter Ian Round on Young’s support among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Though many seem optimistic about Young, he won with only about 28% of the vote due to a crowded field and four frontrunners earning more than 20% of the vote. Hardiman explains how instant runoff voting could have made a difference in the election. Another thing that could have made a difference: higher overall voter turnout. Only 24% — or 88,668 people — actually voted at all; that’s about a sold-out Liberty Bowl and sold-out FedExForum combined. Our own Bill Dries and The Memphis Flyer’s Toby Sells discuss low voter turnout and other election topics on WKNO’s “Behind the Headlines.” And finally, here’s what the losers in the mayoral contest had to say about their defeat.

Before taking the helm of the Downtown Memphis Commission in 2021, Young served as the City of Memphis’ Housing and Community Development Division director. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Speaking of Paul Young ... his old job as CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission will need to be filled now that he’s been elected Memphis mayor. Young’s successor at Downtown’s marketing and development body will oversee a $12 million operating budget and an organization that has about $75 million in total assets. That person will also serve as Downtown’s primary public spokesperson. Our own Rob Moore has more about what that job entails.

A technician worked with a sample at one of the Tennessee crime labs. (Courtesy State of Tennessee)

TBI speeds up rape kit testing: The turnaround time for testing sexual assault kits at all three of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s crime labs is less than half of what it was last year, thanks to a funding boost from the state. In July 2022, TBI’s West Tennessee lab in Jackson, which processes Memphis’ kits, took an average of about 51 weeks, or nearly a year, to process a rape kit. As of August 2023, that average was about 18 weeks, or just over four months. 

“The board [of For the Kingdom] has chosen a different direction, and while I may not agree with the decision, I hope you know my love and support for Raleigh will always endure,” said former For the Kingdom executive director Torrey Bates in a statement. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian file)

For the Kingdom shuttered: Raleigh nature retreat For The Kingdom has temporarily closed after its executive director Torrey Bates was fired and the staff of about 30 was furloughed in late September. The retreat served as a community outreach center for ZIP Code 38128, feeding meals to hundreds and offering no-cost groceries through an affordable, membership-based micro-grocery. For the Kingdom board chair Henry Lewis failed to offer details on the closure in a statement, but the dispute appears to be a cash flow issue created by the expense of new programs. However, during his time there, Bates increased giving and moved the organization from a deficit to operating in the black.

MEET MEMPHIS

Allie Prescott III will be one of the new inductees into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at AutoZone Park. (Ziggy Mack/The Daily Memphian file)

In 1965, Kingsbury High School baseball player Allie Prescott III turned down an opportunity to sign with the Baltimore Orioles so that he could play baseball at Memphis State. And that decision kept Prescott in Memphis to make a difference in his own sports community. He went on to work as the general manager of the Memphis Chicks and then as GM for the Memphis Redbirds, where he had a hand in making AutoZone Park a reality. He served as an interim athletic director for the University of Memphis, and he moonlighted as a referee for college basketball, including several NCAA Tournament games. On Tuesday, all of Prescott’s contributions to the local sports landscape will be honored as he’s inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame.

THE NICE TO KNOW

“I wouldn’t trade my nine years there for anything,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari, left, of his time as coach of the Memphis Tigers. Derrick Rose, right, talked to Calipari at a news conference at the college basketball Final Four on Sunday, April 6, 2008, in San Antonio. (Eric Gay/AP file)

Can Memphis forgive Coach Cal? The name “Coach Cal” still evokes negative feelings among many Memphians, specifically those who remember the 2008 Memphis Tigers basketball season. That’s the one where the NCAA vacated all of the Tigers wins from a successful season over a recruiting scandal involving coach John Calipari and star player Derrick Rose. Now that Rose is playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, it seems the city has forgiven him. Will they do the same for Coach Cal? In an interview with our own Parth Upadhyaya, Calipari says he says he only feels gratitude for his time in Memphis. (But by the looks of the comments on that article, forgiveness may not come soon.) In other college basketball news, Memphis native Curtis Givens III shocked Memphis fans when he committed to the Tigers over the weekend — the LSU Tigers, that is. 

Left, Memphis Grizzlies guard Derrick Rose handled the ball in a preseason basketball game on Sunday, Oct. 8, in Memphis. Right, a mural of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Derrick Rose in the Edge District. (Brandon Dill/AP Photo, Drew Hill/The Daily Memphian)

Sweet welcome for Rose: Former Memphis Tiger Derrick Rose had his debut with the Memphis Grizzlies last night as he helped lead the team to a 127-122 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers. In the first preseason game at FedExForum, Rose scored 13 points and showed Memphis fans he’s still got it. “You can tell all the love he’s getting here in the city, and rightfully so,” said teammate Desmond Bane after the game. Just as Rose was preparing to don “Memphis” across his chest again, Chicago artist Milt Coronado was putting the finishing touches on a mural of Rose in the Edge District as part of the Paint Memphis Festival.

Logan Welk, B.R. Distilling president and chief operating officer, said the future is “very bright” for Blue Note, as it experiences strong sales. (Courtesy Memphis Tourism)

Memphis humidity isn’t all bad: B.R. Distilling, the makers of Blue Note Bourbon, plans to expand its facility in New Chicago from 30,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet, adding more than a dozen new jobs. The planned growth will be made possible by an expanded contract with B.R. partners Bardstown Bourbon Co. Logan Welk, B.R. Distilling president, said the Memphis humidity makes this the best climate in the U.S. for whiskey distilling. (So next time you want to complain on a sweltering summer day, just think about the whiskey.)

Retired NBA player Shaquille O’Neal attended the grand opening celebration of Big Chicken, Shaq’s new fast-casual chicken restaurant in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Richard Brian/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP file)

Chicken Shaq: Big Chicken, former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal’s fast-casual chicken chain, is planning to open three locations in the Memphis area. As the name suggests, Big Chicken’s menu features, well, big chicken sandwiches, including the “Big & Sloppy” with a fried chicken patty, mac and cheese, fried onions and barbecue aioli. In other food news, Sam’s Corner, a new kosher restaurant serving Mediterranean fare, pasta, pizza and more, will open later this month at the Memphis Jewish Community Center. 

Santosh Kumar, left, and Tim Hnat developed a smartwatch app that uses artificial intelligence to tell you when you’re stressed. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Stressed? There’s an app for that: Many smartwatches, including my Garmin Forerunner, measure stress levels throughout the day. But a new smartwatch app developed by a pair of artificial intelligence experts from Memphis is designed to alert you when a stressor happens. Then, it shows you a calming picture and offers suggestions for what to do. Tim Hnat and Santosh Kumar launched the tech company CuesHub in 2022 to market their free app, which includes AI tech created at the University of Memphis. And now you can download the app in the Google Play Store for Samsung Galaxy or Fossil smartwatches. Apple watch wearers, your chance is coming soon. No word on Garmin, though. Bummer.

THIS WEEK’S WEATHER

Warm days and cool nights are the theme this week.

Enjoy your fall break if you’re lucky enough to be off work. I’ll see you back here tomorrow. 

.....